It has long been known that formation of negative ions in the atmosphere reduces particulates, such as smoke, dirt and pollen. Apparently, the particulates are attracted to the negative ions, each of which forms a nucleus. A substantial number of the particulates collect on the nucleus and eventually attain a sufficiently great density to cause the accumulated particles to fall by gravity. Many of the prior art air ionizers employ fans, apparently to assist in drawing the particulates into the region where the negative ions are located. Air ionizers employing fans, however, are relatively large, expensive and somewhat noisy.
It has been realized that particulates can be precipitated and collected without the use of a fan. Such an air ionizer is disclosed in Foster, Jr., U.S. Pat. No. 4,811,159, wherein negative ions are emitted from an array of needle electrodes in a housing. It is reported that a "wind" can be observed with this prior art device. This particular prior art device is adapted to be plugged directly into a wall outlet connected to a 60 Hz, 120 volt electric main. The Foster, Jr. air ionizer is allegedly designed so that the precipitated particulates are collected on a pad, maintained at ground potential, inside of the housing containing the needle electrodes. However, it has been found that the precipitated particulates frequently accumulate on a wall where the outlet is located, rather than on the pad within the housing. Hence, the wall next to the outlet quickly becomes dirty.
It is, accordingly, an object of the present invention to provide a new and improved relatively inexpensive personal air ionizer in a housing small and lightweight enough to be hand-held wherein precipitated particulates resulting from the air being ionized are collected on a pad on which the housing is located.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a new and improved fan-less personal air ionizer small and lightweight enough to be hand-held, and which has an improved electrode array that reduces manufacturing cost.
An additional object of the present invention is to provide a new and improved fan-less personal air ionizer small and lightweight enough to be hand-held, and which has an improved mechanical arrangement for inexpensively fixedly locating high voltage power supply components and providing them with good breakdown characteristics.
A further object of the invention is to provide a new and improved relatively inexpensive personal air ionizer located in a fan-less housing small and lightweight enough to be hand-held, wherein electrodes in the housing are arranged so that a volume of one cubic foot of smoke is cleared in less than one minute.